Q: Trading Justise Winslow for Tyreke Evans would be an incredibly short-sighted mistake. I’m almost in disbelief that it’s being floated around. Tyreke Evans has been great, but he doesn't come with Bird Rights and it's almost a certainty we won't be able to re-sign him. The desperation Pat Riley has shown to make the playoffs and maybe win a series has led to very questionable decisions that would probably had gotten general managers and presidents fired, i.e., signing league journeymen to hefty contracts, matching Tyler Johnson's contract, keeping Hassan Whiteside when it's clearly time to move on and potentially moving a 21-year-old lottery pick (full of potential) for a few months of Tyreke Evans. What is going on? -- Kevin.

A: First, everything at this stage, until completed, is just rumor. I do believe there are scenarios where moving Justise would make sense, but most are, as posited yesterday in this space, more about having to utilize Justise as a "sweetener" in a deal in place of the first-round picks that the Heat lack, be it to offload Tyler Johnson's salary, augment a potential Hassan Whiteside trade or serve as part of a bigger overall package. I agree that you don't give up on a player who still has one more rookie-scale season on his deal for a three-month rental. That said, a scorer such as Tyreke Evans is what the Heat could use for late-game situations in the injury absence of Dion Waiters, so he would make sense, at the right price, as a rental. But you often, with patience, can find similar rentals on the buyout market before that March 1 deadline for playoff eligibility.

Q: I think Bam Adebayo has clearly earned minutes in the rotation, but I don't begin to understand Erik Spoelstra sitting Hassan Whiteside so much. There is a lot of talk about how Spo finds ways to win. I think he also finds ways to lose. I don't think there is another coach in the league who would leave a guy like Hassan on the bench. He'd never comment publicly, and rightly so, but what do you think Pat Riley is thinking while he's watching yet another game slip away while Hassan watches from the bench? -- Brian, Mount Vernon, Wash.

A: I'm not in any way suggesting that Pat Riley was involved, but it was curious Tuesday how forthcoming Erik Spoelstra was about needing to find a way to play Hassan and Bam together more often. One of the most unique aspects of Spoelstra's coaching tenure has been designing schemes to maximize the talent on his roster. He did it last season with a bunch of journeyman veterans; he did it prior to that with the Big Three. Both Adebayo and Whiteside deserve to play, and not at the cost of the other's success. But the question remains whether, in today's NBA, you can effectively win with dual center-like players. I guess we're about to find out.

Q: I don’t know what Pat Riley plans for this team. I honestly think he did overpay these guys. He trusted on being able to get rid of these contracts if it didn't work and now he is stuck with them. -- Pito.

A: Obviously with Dion Waiters' ankle surgery, that potential trade option is out the window. And with James Johnson's play, a deal for him would appear highly unlikely. So the question becomes whether the Heat believe they can win, going forward, with those two. If that is the case, then you have to move others to make it work with them, since they clearly are not going anyway. That will make Thursday's trading deadline particularly intriguing.